Trippin' Down Ontario's Rivers
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The Haliburton Highlands are located in a rocky stretch of wilderness in and around Haliburton, Ontario at the junction of Hwy 121 and 118. Most of these 2 day trips are actually found closer to Dorset and The Leslie M. Frost Natual Resource Centre on St. Nora Lake.
You might want to pull out your road maps to help locate some of the small towns and highways referenced here. |
| St. Nora-Sherborne Lake |
This route has 2-3 optional side routes that can add to both the enjoyment and trip length. Start from Leslie M. Frost Natual Resource Centre on St. Nora Lake off Hwy 35 south of Dorset. Paddle to the east end of St. Nora and portage over to Sherborne Lake. From Sherborne Lake canoeists can make day trips to either Orley Lake or Silver Doe to Silver Buck Lake. During high water, canoeiests can loop through Sundew Lake - Little Avery Lake - Bruin Lake - Long Pond - Roache Pond - Plastic Lake.
Fishing: Rainbow trout can be found in Orley Lake and speckles in both Silver Doe Lake and Silver Buck Lake. Click here to order the topographical maps for the St. Nora-Sherborne Lake.
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Put in to the east of Hwy 35 north of the Leslie M. Frost Centre, just before the bridge, and paddle southwest across Wren Lake. Then take the portage to Black River and continue on again into Horse Lake to Three Island Lake looping through Margaret Lake to Dan Lake finishing at McKewen Lake and back through to Horse Lake heading home again. This little travelled 2 day route has a total of 12 portages in all, averaging 290 metres.
Click here to order the topographical maps for the McKewen Lake Loop.
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McKewen Lake Loop |
| Herb & Gun Lakes |
Herb Lake is a wonderful spot to spend a wilderness weekend with the option of continuing on to Black River into Gun Lake. Access Herb Lake via Hwy 35, right onto Kawagama Road north of Dorset, right onto No. 8 and right again at the forks. Then continue on past Minden Bay (approx. 11 km or 2.2 km past Deer Bay Road) turn right yet again and head down to Herb Lake. With only 4 portages, this make for a easy 2 day outdoor trip.
Click here to order the topographical maps for Herb & Gun Lakes.
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Launch your canoe on Big Hawk Lake accessed from Hwy 35 north of Dorset, right on Road 13 and then left on Big Hawk Lake Road. Paddle your way to the north inlet of Big Hawk Lake and make the 225m portage into Clear Lake. Continue on through to Red Pine Lake to Nunikani Lake and finally looping back onto Big Hawk Lake. If your interested in some speckles, make the portage from the east shore of Nunikani Lake to Wallace Pond into Shoelace Creek. This 2 day outdoor excursion has a total of 7 portages averaging 492 metres (includes the side trip for speckled trout).
Click here to order the topographical maps for the Nunikani Lake Loop.
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Nunikani Lake |
| Black Lake Loop |
Drive north on Hwy 35, when you see Raven Lake on your right, turn left down the township road into Shoe Lake. This loop takes you through Shoe Lake, Blue Chalk Lake, Red Chalk Lake, Carcass Lake, Pairo Lakes, Black Lake, Wren Lake, Little Wren Lake and finally to Raven Lake west into Five Mile Bay where you can either jog or portage back to the car on Shoe Lake. This route is a little more demanding with 11 portages averaging 610 metres.
Click here to order the topographical maps for Black Lake Loop.
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The route, located just inside the western border of Algonquin Park, is definitely the more demanding trip in this Haliburton Highlands selection. With 11 portages averaging over 1,000 metres each, canoeists should expect to earn their meals on this 3 day trip. The canoeing starts at one of two public access points in Algonquin Park: Kawagama Lake or Livingstone Lake. Kawagama Lake is the larger of the two and can get rough in high winds. From either starting point, head into Kimball Lake to Kimball Creek and make the 2,740 metre portage to Rockaway Lake. From here adventurists can continue a little further into Minkey Lake and then Dividing Lake.
Click here to order the topographical maps for Rockaway and Dividing Lakes.
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Rockaway & Dividing Lakes |
| Poker Lake Loop |
Drive along Hwy 118, 20 west of the Hwy 35 junction and park in the clearing south of the highway. From here portage 100 metres into Bentshoe Lake and start the Poker Lake Loop. Paddle in a clockwise loop from Bentshoe Lake to Poker Lake to Quirt Lake to Cinder Lake and then back into the east end of Poker Lake to Upper Crane Lake to Lower Crane Lake and finally into Bentshoe Lake and home.
Click here to order the topographical maps for Poker Lake Loop.
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Make your way to Gooderham by driving north up Hwy 507 from Buckhorn to Hwy 503. Just before Gooderham is the launching site to the left of the bridge that crosses the Irondale River. You'll find a number of short portages along this route to Minden unless the water is high enough to run or line.
Fishing: Walleye and muskie. Click here to order the topographical maps for Rockaway and Dividing Lakes.
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Irondale-Burnt Rivers |
| Drag-Burnt Rivers |
The Drag and upper Burnt has fewer rapids than the Irondale-Burnt mentioned above. The rapids you do find are easily runnable. Access the Drag River via the Canning Lake Dam located north of Kinmount off Hwy 121 along Route #1 north of Gelert and left before the Drag River bridge. An easy 2 day trip from Canning Lake to Balsam Provinicial Park.
Click here to order the topographical maps for the Drag-Burnt River.
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NOTES :
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 back to the dog house
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DOG EARS
Online Maps & Books Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
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